Steam Ship

DESCRIPTION: "If a steam ship weighed ten thousand tones And sailed five thousand miles... If the mate was each six feet talls And the captain just the same; Would you multiply or subtract To find the captain's name?" The singer admits "I can't do that sum"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1923 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: riddle ship technology
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 151, "Steam Ship" (1 text)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 151, "Steam Ship" (1 tune plus a text excerpt)
Roud #15886
NOTES [25 words]: This looks to me like a parody of the "story problems" children are sometimes assigned. The information in the riddle is not sufficient for solution. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.1
File: Br3151

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